Wifi sharing system with mesh network functionality

ABSTRACT

Described is a secure WiFi sharing system for use between neighbors or others in like proximity. The system may include a WiFi signal with an established network connection and a user computing device seeking to access the network connection through the WiFi signal. The system allows the user computing device to rent or share the WiFi signal through the system and establish a secure connection between the user computing device and the WiFi network without the need of sharing the SSID and/or the password. Further, the system automatically changes a user computing device to another WiFi signal on the system and in proximity if the signal strength of the connected WiFi signal drops below a minimum threshold.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional patent applicationto Charles Isgar entitled “WIFI SHARING SYSTEM WITH MESH NETWORKFUNCTIONALITY,” Ser. No. 62/891,201, filed Aug. 23, 2019, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated entirely herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

This invention generally relates to a WiFi system, and more specificallyto a WiFi sharing system for sharing a secure WiFi signal or signals ina mesh-type network manner with others within the same proximity, suchas a neighborhood or the like in an organized manner allowing forpayment or revenue to be credited to owners of existing WiFi signals byothers to use the WiFi signals.

State of the Art

There are ways that individuals can share hotspots or share WiFi signalsfrom phones or by giving other users your SSID and password to join yourWiFi network. However, there is not an available system that allows userto share a WiFi signal with others around them without sharing the SSID,the password or a combination thereof. Further, there is not a systemthat allows a user to pay for use of a WiFi signal from others aroundthem.

Accordingly, what is needed is an organized secure system for sharingexisting WiFi signals between an individual seeking to rent and/or shareanother individual's existing WiFi signal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment includes a WiFi sharing system comprising: a server havinga memory storing personal property information; a provider computingdevice coupled to the server; and a user computing device coupled to theprovider computing device, wherein the server is programmed to: receiveand process a signal from a provider computing device that a WiFinetwork associated with the provider computing device is in a share WiFimode; automatically set the WiFi network to share WiFi mode; receive andprocess a signal from a user computing device that the user computingdevice is requesting to rent access to a WiFi network, wherein therequest includes location data of the user computing device; determinethat the WiFi network in the share WiFi mode is within WiFi proximity ofthe user computing device and send the name of the WiFi network to theuser computing device for display and selection through the usercomputing device; receive and process a signal from the user computingdevice selecting the WiFi network; process payment for use of the WiFinetwork and automatically establish a connection between the usercomputing device and the WiFi network without sharing the SSID, thepassword or a combination of the SSID and the password.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following moreparticular description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived byreferring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconnection with the Figures, wherein like reference numbers refer tosimilar items throughout the Figures, and:

FIG. 1 a view of a WiFi sharing system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a view of various individuals utilizing a WiFi sharing systemaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a user interface for interaction with a WiFi sharing systemaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a user interface for interaction with a WiFi sharing systemfor a user that seeks to make a WiFi signal available according to anembodiment;

FIG. 5A is a user interface for interaction with a WiFi sharing systemfor a user that seeks to rent a WiFi signal according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5B is a user interface for connecting with a WiFi sharing systemfor a user that seeks to rent a WiFi signal using native phone Wi-Fisettings according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a user interface for interaction with a WiFi sharing systemfor logging into the system to establish a connection with the sharedWiFi signal according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a WiFi sharing system forsharing a secure WiFi signal with others within the same proximity. Thesystem is a formalized system that allows neighbors to share WiFisignals, with each other and effect payment from one neighbor as rentfor the WiFi signal use to the neighbor providing the source of WiFisignal and Internet connection. It establishes an organized system witha set of rules of expectation of each party. The system may include theuse of a software application, a web application or a mobile applicationoperating on a user computing device and a provider computing devicethat may be a mobile computing device like a smartphone, a tablet, awearable, a laptop, a desktop computer and the like.

FIG. 1 depicts a WiFi sharing system 10 in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. The system 10 includes a WiFi source 12, a usercomputing device 14, the Internet 16 and a server 18. In broadoperation, the WiFi source 12 is placed in a share WiFi mode and allowsthe user computing device 14 to rent usage of the WiFi source 12 toconnect to the Internet 16. The server 16 operates to establish theconnection and transaction of the rental of usage of the WiFi signal ofthe WiFi source 12.

FIG. 2 depicts an urban setting with several users that are sharing WiFisignals in accordance with embodiments of the system. The operation ofthe system 10 establishes an anonymous platform for neighbors to share aWiFi signal to access the Internet. In this embodiment, users of thesystem may establish a master lease agreement with established paymentstructure in order ensure that the user always has a WiFi connectionwith a minimum signal strength. In order to accomplish this, the system10 may allow a user, as shown in FIG. 2, to establish a connection withone shared WiFi signal, however, if there is a stronger signal or theestablished connected signal drops below an established minimum signalstrength, the user computing device 14 of that user can be automaticallyswitched to connection of another shared WiFi signal without the needfor reconnecting. In at least this way, all signals within a WiFiproximity of the user computing device 12 of that user can operate as amesh WiFi network, ensuring that the user computing device 12 may alwayshave proper signal strength. In these embodiments, the system 10accounts for the amount of time and/or the amount of data the usercomputing device 14 uses when connected to each shared WiFi network ofthe system and apportions out payment from the user to each of thenetworks based on the tracked amount of time and/or amount of data usedon each shared WiFi network.

It will be understood that the operation of the system 10 isaccomplished with security and privacy protocols as a consideration. Thesharing of the WiFi signal includes security and encryption technology(such as, but not limited to, virtual private network (“VPN”)technology) to prevent all users sharing a WiFi connection from viewingfiles and communications and the like from any of the other users.Further, the provider's personal network and computers coupled theretoare protected from access by other renting the WiFi signal. This allowsfor the renting of and sharing of WiFi connections without compromisingthe security of the provider and the user. This system will havestandard and consistent security protocols that the user and theprovider can both have confidence in.

The WiFi source 12 may include a provider computing device 13 coupled tothe WiFi source 12. The provider computing device 13 may connect to theserver 18 through the WiFi source 12. A user interface, as shown in FIG.3, either through an application or a web application may present theprovider an option to “Start Sharing Your WiFi Connection” or theequivalents thereto. The provider computing device 13 would select the“Start Sharing Your WiFi Connection” button. In so doing, the providercomputing device 13 will display another user interface to enter orconfirm WiFi network settings as shown in FIG. 4. The user making theWiFi network available may be prompted to enter or confirm certaininformation, such as, but not limited to, Network Name utilized on theshared WiFi system 10, SSID, Password, Network Availability (such astime of day, number of days and the like), number of users that canshare (updated as users rent access to the WiFi signal), and the like.Once the information is entered, the user may select the “Share WiFiNow” button to share it with multiple users, select the “ProvideDedicated WiFi Now” button to provide a dedicated connection to a singleuser or a button equivalent to these two buttons. This sends a signal tothe server 18 that the WiFi source 12 is being shared and the server 18can place the WiFi network in a share WiFi mode under the selected typeof sharing. The share WiFi mode makes the WiFi network visible on thesystem 10.

A user computing device 14 that accesses the system by operating anapplication or a web application may be presented the user interface ofFIG. 5A to “Piggy Back A WiFi Signal.” Various WiFi networks on thesystem 10 that are in the share WiFi mode are displayed. The system onlydisplays the WiFi networks that are also within WiFi proximity of theuser computing device 14, wherein WiFi proximity means that a WiFisignal can be detected. The user computing device 14 may sort theavailable WiFi networks be certain filters, such as, but not limited tosignal strength, provider rating, availability time, shared signal,dedicated signal and the like. The user may select the WiFi network shewishes to join by selecting the button with the WiFi network name theuser wishes to rent from. The selection of the WiFi network to joinresults in the display of the user interface for login depicted in FIG.6. The user is prompted to enter or confirm the User Name and passwordof the user to access the system 10. The selection of a button, such as“Login Now” shown in FIG. 6 may be selected to send the logininformation to the server 18 through the WiFi Network connection. Thisis done with encryption and without having to send the informationthrough the provider computing device, but strictly through a limitedconnection between the user computing device and the WiFi network. Theserver 18 confirms the user name and password, and the confirmation ofthe user name and password institutes the full connection to the WiFinetwork. Confirmation of the user name and password includes confirmingthat there is an active payment instrument saved and available to payfor the time using the system. In some embodiments, the connection maybe automatically established after payment for renting use of the WiFinetwork is confirmed. In other embodiments, the WiFi provider computingdevice 13 may be notified of the request and have the option to acceptor reject the rental of the WiFi by the user. Further still, the systemmay charge a deposit and then track the amount of time on the WiFinetwork and dynamically create a bill based on a dollar per minute ofuse rate, wherein the payment instrument is charged once the user logsoff the system 10.

FIG. 5B depicts another way for connecting to the system. The usercomputing device 12 may be utilized to access the device's native Wi-Fisettings, wherein a list of available networks is provided. This listmay include shared WiFi signals from the system 10. Once the userselects to connect to a system shared WiFi network, the user is directedto the interface depicted in FIG. 6 and proceeds as described above.

The system or the provider may control usage of the shared WiFi signal.For example, and without limitation, the system either automatically, orby entry of a provider, may establish a threshold of users on a WiFinetwork, wherein the system does not allow more than a predeterminednumber of users on a single WiFi network in order to avoid bandwidthissues. Further, the system may require a minimum signal strength inorder for a user to access a shared WiFi network.

The WiFi sharing system 10 provides many benefits. These benefitsinclude providing a unique identifiable address to find and login from auser computing device that is not previously connected to the WiFinetwork. Further, the system 10 provides data collection of time usedand/or data used and incorporates a billing process that may be tied totime of use and/or tied to amount of data used. The system 10 maycompensate for signal strength, surge demand and flexible pricing byestablishing a different rate structure for each of these and othersituations.

Use of the system 10 empowers home owners and individuals to make extramoney from their WIFI signal, and further allows them to be a part of asharing economy to utilize unused assets. In doing so, control may begiven to the users by allowing them to limit participants on sameaddress to maintain signal strength at a desired threshold. This limitmay also be system controlled.

Embodiments may be available on or through the internet, such as throughdomain names reserved and owned by Applicant that includepiggybackwifi.com, 5barswifi.com, wifipls.com, wifi-rent.com,wifipronto.com, wifi4.rent, wifirent.online, piggywifi.com, or the like.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method, or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wire-line, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object-oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, cloud-based infrastructurearchitecture, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps tobe performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or otherdevices to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/actsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented in order tobest explain the present invention and its practical application and tothereby enable those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use theinvention. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognizethat the foregoing description and examples have been presented for thepurposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forthis not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to theprecise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the teachings above without departing from the spirit andscope of the forthcoming claims.

1. A WiFi sharing system comprising: a server having a memory storingpersonal property information; a provider computing device coupled tothe server; and a user computing device coupled to the providercomputing device, wherein the server is programmed to: receive andprocess a signal from a provider computing device that a first WiFinetwork associated with the provider computing device is in a share WiFimode; automatically set the first WiFi network to share WiFi mode;receive and process a signal from a user computing device that the usercomputing device is requesting to rent access to a WiFi network, whereinthe request includes location data of the user computing device;determine that the first WiFi network, in the share WiFi mode, is withinWiFi proximity of the user computing device and send the name of thefirst WiFi network to the user computing device for display andselection through the user computing device; receive and process asignal from the user computing device selecting the first WiFi network;process payment for use of the first WiFi network and automaticallyestablish a connection between the user computing device and the firstWiFi network without sharing the SSID, the password or a combination ofthe SSID and the password; and transfer the connection from the usercomputing device to a second WiFi network on the system if the WiFinetwork signal strength of the first WiFi network drops below a minimumthreshold, wherein the payment is apportioned between each provider ofthe WiFi networks to which the user computing device is connected. 2.The system of claim 1, further comprising security and encryptiontechnology that prevents a user of the user computing device fromviewing files of and communications from any other users sharing thefirst and second WiFi networks.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein thesecurity and encryption technology prevents the user from accessing theprovider computing device.
 4. The system of claim 1, further comprisinga provider interface displayed on the provider computing device, whereinthe first WiFi network is placed in the share WiFi mode in response toinput to the provider interface by a provider using the providercomputing device.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the server isfurther programmed to determine a total number of users accessing thefirst WiFi network and dynamically display the total number of users onthe provider computing device in real time.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein the server is further programmed to limit the number of usersaccessing the first WiFi network at any time in response to providerinput to the provider computing device.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein the provider interface comprises an option for the provider tochoose between placing the first WiFi network in the share WiFi mode asa shared signal, wherein multiple user computing devices may access thefirst WiFi network, and as a dedicated signal, wherein only one usercomputing device may access the first WiFi network.
 8. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the personal property information includes a network IDand password associated with the first WiFi network, wherein theprovider interface includes an interface screen comprising WiFi networkconfirmation settings of the first WiFi network including network ID andpassword input fields, wherein the server automatically sets the firstWiFi network to share WiFi mode only after the provider enters thecorrect network ID and password associated with the first WiFi networkthrough the provider interface.
 9. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of provider computing devices coupled to theserver, wherein each of the plurality of provider computing devicescorresponds to one of a plurality of primary WiFi networks; and a userinterface displayed on the user computing device, wherein the userinterface displays a list of primary WiFi networks, of the plurality ofprimary WiFi networks, that are within a detectable range of the usercomputing device and that are in the share WiFi mode for selection by auser of the user computing device.
 10. The system of claim 9, whereinthe list of primary WiFi networks is accessible through the native WiFisettings of the user computing device, wherein the native WiFi settingsalso displays other WiFi networks that are not coupled to the system.11. The system of claim 9, wherein the list is sortable by a filterselected from the group of filters consisting of signal strength,provider rating, availability time, shared signal, dedicated signal, andany combination thereof.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the serveris further programmed to receive a login signal from the user computingdevice through a limited connection between the user computing deviceand the first WiFi network, the login signal bypassing the providercomputing device, the login signal including a username and userpassword; verify that the username and user password are associated witha user account stored on the server; confirm that an active paymentinstrument information is associated with the user account and availableto pay for use of the system; and automatically connect the usercomputing device to the first WiFi network only after the username anduser password are verified and the payment instrument information isconfirmed.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the server is furtherprogrammed to, before the user computing device is connected to thefirst WiFi network, send for display on the provider computing device anindication that the first WiFi network has been selected by the usercomputing device and provide an option for the first WiFi networkselection to be accepted or denied through input to the providercomputing device, whereupon the user computing device is automaticallyconnected to the first WiFi network only if the first WiFi networkselection is accepted.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the server isfurther programmed to charge a deposit to the user account; track usagetime of the user computing device on the first WiFi network; and chargethe user account an additional charge based on the amount of time theuser computing device is connected to the first WiFi network.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the additional charge is further based oncriteria selected from the group consisting of amount of data used,signal strength, surge demand, rate structure, and any combinationthereof.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is furtherprogrammed to require a predetermined minimum signal strength of thefirst WiFi network at the user computing device in order for the usercomputing device to be connected to the first WiFi network.